He brings an iPod and listens to "a mix of dance tunes and fist-pump songs" and dances around to get the adrenaline going. By game time, he is ready to come "barreling out of (the) dressing room doors and bounce onto the field."

The pot-bellied mascot has many techniques for revving up the crowd, but you won't catch him starting a wave.

"I've never known Giants fans, like real Giants fans, to do the wave," Lou Seal said. "They're very anti-wave."

He's not sure how the scorn for the wave came about, but chalks it up to the culture of this particular group of fans.

"I'm part of the community, so if we don't do the wave then I don't do the wave," he said.

Lou Seal calls the current Giants crew his "favorite group of guys."

He fist-bumps the players in the dugout between innings, and they douse him with champagne in the locker room after big wins.

"I think I actually heard Lincecum scream 'drown the rat' at our last celebration at home," he said.

Lou Seal was referring, of course, to Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum, for whom he had high praise.

"He's great. Super down to earth, friendly, good personality, good soul," the mascot said. "He's just a good dude."

He called closer Brian Wilson, known for his nerves of steel and his dyed-black beard, "very funny" and "definitely my type of guy, he makes me laugh."

If he had to choose a favorite, though, that might be Freddy Sanchez because of a recent good deed.

Lou Seal said he was out to lunch with his mother at MoMo's, across from the ballpark, and Sanchez happened to stop by. The second baseman came over and said hello, then picked up the tab.

As Wednesday's game nears and the city holds its collective breath, Lou Seal said he feels "a whole lot of excitement and a whole lot of hope."

He is ready to square off against Texas Rangers mascot Rangers Captain - but he won't be returning his e-mails just yet.

Lou Seal said the mascots for the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers all e-mailed or called him before the teams played the Giants.

"I know all the mascots, we get together at the All-Star Game each year. We're all pretty much friends," he said.

However, Lou Seal says he ignores their messages until after the games have been played.

"This time of year we're all superstitious," he said.

He encouraged San Franciscans to soak up this week's excitement.

"Keep your fingers crossed and be hopeful," he said. "We're four wins away from heaven."